“As for me, this is my covenant with you: You will be the father of many nations. No longer will you be called Abram; your name will be Abraham, for I have made you a father of many nations. I will make you very fruitful; I will make nations of you, and kings will come from you. I will establish my covenant between me and you for the generations to come, to be your God and the God of your descendants after you.” – Genesis 17:4-7

Abraham’s name means “father of a multitude”. Israel, the nation that would come from Abraham, was to follow God and influence others. Jesus Christ—born to save humanity— descended from Abraham’s family line. Through Christ, people can have a personal relationship with God and become His children by being grafted into His family.

As the first Hebrew patriarch, Abraham became a role model of faith. God’s promises to Abraham and his descendants are based on grace, not on their ability to keep the Law. Although Abraham made mistakes and sinned, he believed in God’s power and integrity. His goodness and faith became evident in his actions of surrender, obedience, and complete confidence in God to carry out His promises.

Shepherd’s Notes observes: “Putting the relationship between God and humans on a legalistic basis invites the wrath of God. Relationships with a legalistic basis require both parties to carry out perfectly both the spirit and the letter of the Law. Failure to do this results in penalties (wrath) to the offending party. Knowing the weakness of human nature as He does, God knows right relationship must be founded on something other than a legal basis.”

Paul ends this section reminding us that Abraham’s justification by faith has purpose for us too: for “us who believe in Him who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead” (vs. 24) is also reckoned righteousness . . . . Jesus “was delivered over to death for our sins and raised to life for our justification (vs. 25).

So What?

God graciously gave His Son, Jesus Christ, to be crucified and raised to life as payment for our sins. All who reach out in faith will receive the power of His forgiveness, eternal life, and abundant blessings.

On what basis did God declare Abraham righteous?

What does it mean to be justified by faith?